Phillip

You might be right there but one who really knows how to take a throw-in is Geremi. I don't know about Ferreira but I doubt anyone on the team can throw the ball as long as Geremi. Great player to have if there's a throw-in not far from the opponents goal area. A long throw and players like Drogba, JT and Ballack rising up in the air is quite nice I agree that Geremi takes a nice LONG throw-in, but PF is good with short to medium throw-ins. I'm not joking that it is not easy to do -- kind of like a good through ball, it has to be accurate WITH THE PROPER WEIGHT. No one else in our team (including JT) does it very well.

And whomever gave me a hard time about my comment that Ferreira is our best throw-in specialist, I hope that person watches this game over and over again, and appreciates Ferreira's excellent skill at throw-ins (a lost art, in my opinion).

I would like to see basically the same lineup, with Diarra instead of Ferreira, with Essien instead of J. Cole (I'm going to get in trouble for that one), and with Ballack in there if his ankle is OK.

What about it?

Yes, everyone will be back for the second leg.

1-0 is always a good result in a first leg cup tie. I only got to see the 2nd half. Liverpool dominated the first 25 minutes of the 1st half, and maybe deserved an equalizer. We got back into it for the last 15 minutes, and might have deserved a 2nd goal. All in all, 1-0 is a fair result. Paulo did well out there, as did our entire defense. Maka seems to have lost something, and I am worried about whether this is it for him at the top level. On to Anfield!

Rooney's goal in injury time was well taken, but what the heck was Dida doing at the far post? Here comes Rooney down the left side near the edge of the box, and Dida is parked at the right post?! Rooney took a nice shot toward the left post, and Dida was yards from the shot. If Dida would have been more properly positioned about 2 yards from the left post, he probably would have stopped that shot. Dida really is a Dodo Bird when it comes to positioning.

I would take Heinze over Cole or Bridge, and I would take Vidic over Carvalho, but just barely. Otherwise, just Shrek and Ronaldo, and perhaps Giggs.

I agree Ferreira is not worth the 12 million we paid for him but we were crazy in paying way over the odds for his services. I think he is a good right back, and I like the fact that he does not run up to try to block players crosses, since then those players will just run past him, like they always do to A. Cole. He knows his strenghts and weaknesses, and plays to them fairly well, in my opinion. Paulo is a smart player, and is our best throw-in specialist, whereby most other teams have two or three such players, we really only have one. The rest of the bunch are just rubbish when trying to throw in to a teammate - most times they throw it to the other team. It may sound like a minor issue, but trust me, it is not!

I'm still on XP, and have been told to wait another 6 months for Microsoft to get all the big bugs out, and then perhaps purchase it.

Yes.

Yes, JM had a poor game. Just bad tactics and bad substitutions. Besides those two things, he did OK.

OK, you convinced me. Let's start 3 at the back, and have Robben, Sheva, J. Cole, SWP, and Drogs in the starting lineup.

That must have really got the Mancs mad!

Well then, I might have to hop over to the library tomorrow . . . Back to the topic on hand, I really worry about Martins and his blazing speed (that is the one kind of forward that we have real trouble with, now that Gallas is gone), and I have a funny feeling we will see Michael Owen out there, and someone crazy will happen (in a good way) for the Magpies.

Did you like War and Peace (thread combination response)?

I disagree. Of course a win will be fine, but a draw will not be a horrible result for us. We should play a very careful game against the Magpies, and I would not mind a very defensive lineup.

I feel for you, I really do. I still am not sure how Gamst Pederson missed that wide open header. Anyway, Blackburn was a deserving semifinalist, and their future looks very bright.

Given what everyone is saying, perhaps I was a bit too harsh in my rating of Petr Cech. However, you had to have seen Joe Cole's miss in the first half to appreciate how bad it was. I don't care how well he played the rest of the game, that miss demands that he get a mediocre rating (unless of course he scored one or two goals thereafter, which he did not do).

1) To remember the Hillsborough disaster. 2) I don't think so.

I'll take a shot at player ratings, for what it's worth! Cech: 6.5. Made some excellent saves, especially the one on JT's glancing header that was almost an own goal. A bit poor in his play for corners, however. Carvalho: 7.0. Probably our best defender today. Did nothing glaringly wrong. A. Cole: 5.5. Back to his phantom defending. His foul resulted in Blackburn's first goal. Seemed indifferent for large patches of the game. JT: 6.0. Not one of his best games. Beaten by Roberts to the ball for Blackburn's first goal. Essien: 6.5. Played well, and that shot off the crossbar was something to behold. J. Cole: 5.0. His miss of an easy chance in the 1st half is the main reason for his mediocre rating. Lamps: 6.5. Did well out there, but again his free kicks were horrible. Ballack: 7.0. Deserved a high rating even before he scored the second goal. Was missing for large part of the 2nd half, however. Maka: 5.5. Played OK, but there has been something missing in his game this season. Drogba: 6.0. No real chances on goal, but hustled the entire game. Sheva: 4.0. No excuse for missing that chance laid out on a silver platter by Drogba. Disappointing to say the least! Subs: Kalou: 5.0. No credit for Ballack's goal, since the defender was the one who knocked it to Ballack. SWP: 6.5. His move to create the 2nd goal was great, and I liked his enthusiam at a time when we desperately needed it. Mikel: 6.0. Played his usual solid game when he came in.

Don't forget van de Saar.

Unfortunately, Jose is Latin, and with that is the big MACHO thing. He is much too stubborn to break the ice with Roman, and that will likely lead to him leaving at the end of this season. Too bad, but that is likely what will happen.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Ashley Cole made one great save during that one patch when our defence was at sixes and sevens. Cech was well beaten and would have never gotten to the left post in time. Cole blocked the shot between his legs, otherwise it would have been 2-0. He deserves a high rating just for that crucial play.